Inhibition of biofilm formation can play a very important role in contributing to pathogenicity. Bacteria in the biofilm state have been shown to be 10-10,000-fold less susceptible to antibiotic treatment. Estimations made by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) attribute 65% to 80% of human infections as biofilm mediated. Consequently, biofilm formation is often responsible for chronic infections due to bacterial persistence despite antibiotic treatment. Considering that the formation of biofilms undermines the utility of existing antibiotics, our research team is interested in the development of new solutions that specifically address biofilm formation. To date, very few compounds have been shown to selectively inhibit biofilm formation in a non-microbicidal manner.
It has been suggested that the development of biofilm inhibitors may restore susceptibility to antibiotics in pathogenic infections, thus renewing the utility of existing therapies, particularly therapies employing antibiotics that show low human toxicity. Treatment strategies employing co-dosing of antibiotics and compounds disrupting biofilm formation may therefore provide a new avenue for combating antibiotic resistance.
Additionally, small molecule biofilm modulators have promising potential for development as coatings for indwelling medical devices. Medical implant devices are a major source of nosocomial infections. Compound coatings of this nature could therefore prevent initial bacterial colonization of these surfaces, and reduce the instances of persistent bacterial infections among inpatient populations.
By discovering new classes of biofilm inhibitor such as the compound described below, and by discovering the novel use of previously described compounds, we shall develop a suite of tools for drug therapy and medical device coating.